"Rod is the greatest leader in the history of this franchise, and has earned the opportunity to take charge of our locker room," said Waddell. "We spoke to a number of candidates for this position, but our conversations with staff and players consistently returned to the same person. Rod's fresh ideas, ability to motivate and understanding of what it takes to bring a championship to Raleigh will help our young team take the next step toward competing to bring the Cup back to North Carolina."
Brind'Amour, 47, is the 14th person to serve as head coach in franchise history, and the fifth since the team's arrival in North Carolina in 1997. Born in Ottawa, but raised in Campbell River, B.C., he has served as the Hurricanes' assistant coach for the past seven seasons, after working for the team in player development roles from 2010-2012.
Brind'Amour officially retired as a player on June 30, 2010, following a career of more than 20 NHL seasons. Drafted by the St. Louis Blues in the first round of the 1988 NHL Entry Draft, Brind'Amour completed his career ranked 16th in NHL history in games played (1,484), 44th in assists (732), 46th in points (1,184) and 54th in goals (452), in 21 seasons with St. Louis, Philadelphia and Carolina. He was named to the NHL's All-Rookie Team in 1990, after scoring 61 points (26g, 35a) in 79 games for St. Louis, and played in the NHL All-Star Game while a member of the Flyers in 1992. Brind'Amour represented Canada in the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, as well as the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, and won back-to-back Frank J. Selke trophies as the NHL's top defensive forward in 2005-06 and 2006-07, as a member of the Hurricanes.
Brind'Amour played in 159 career Stanley Cup Playoff games, totaling 51 goals and 60 assists (111 points). He participated in the Stanley Cup Final three times, reaching the Final in 1997 with Philadelphia, and in 2002 and 2006 with Carolina, captaining the Hurricanes to the 2006 Stanley Cup championship. Acquired by the Hurricanes from the Philadelphia Flyers on Jan. 23, 2000, Brind'Amour ranks second in career points for the Hurricanes since the team's relocation to North Carolina, notching 473 points in 694 games played. He also ranks second in assists (299), second in shorthanded goals (10), fourth in goals (174) and third in power-play goals (60) in the team's North Carolina history. Brind'Amour ranks third in franchise history (including Hartford) in assists (299), fourth in points (473) and fifth in games played (694). Named the Hurricanes' captain prior to the 2005-06 season, Brind'Amour netted 31 goals and earned 39 assists (70 points) that season to lead the team to a franchise-record 52 regular-season wins. His league-leading 12 playoff goals during the team's Stanley Cup run also set a franchise record.
